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P. K. Jha and V. Sharma
1 Introduction
The Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi launched the Swachh
Bharat Mission on the 2nd of October, 2014, with the objective of achieving complete
sanitation coverage in the country and to bring focus on safe sanitation in the nation.
The mission is divided into two parts, rural and urban with the Secretary of the
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as its Mission Coordinator. This scheme
aims to make India a pioneer in sanitation and solid and liquid waste management
by 2019, as a fitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary on
2nd October, 2019.
Some important objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) are
listed as under:
(a) Bringing an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas which
would be achieved by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open
defecation.
(b) Accelerating the growth of sanitation coverage within rural communities.
(c) Motivating communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable
sanitation within their jurisdiction.
(d) Encouraging cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe
and sustainable sanitation techniques.
(e) Developing community managed sanitation systems that focus on scientific
solid and liquid waste and overall management of waste for cleanliness in the
rural areas.
(f) Creating significant impact on gender-related awareness and promoting social
inclusion by improving sanitation especially in marginalized communities.
Swachh Bharat Mission also aims toward the declaration of cities and villages as
open defecation free (ODF). According to the guidelines by the Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India, ODF refers to the elimination
of fecal-oral transmission, defined by
(a) No visible feces to be found in the community or village.
(b) Every household as well as public institutions to use safe technology option for
disposal of feces.
The process of ODF verification starts when a Gram Sabha (a body consisting of
all persons whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the Panchayat at the
village level) declares the entire Gram Panchayat or the village as ODF free. Since
ODF villages have a tendency to fall back to pre-existing conditions, two verifications
are conducted. The first verification, which is conducted by the Gram Panchayat,
occurs within three months of the declaration and the second verification, which is
conducted by the state government, is carried out six months after the first verification.
The State can do the verification themselves or invite third-party verifiers.
However, the most important aspect of Swachh Bharat Mission is the demand generation for the usage of toilet through various IEC activities. Information, education
P. K. Jha and V. Sharma
1 Introduction
The Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi launched the Swachh
Bharat Mission on the 2nd of October, 2014, with the objective of achieving complete
sanitation coverage in the country and to bring focus on safe sanitation in the nation.
The mission is divided into two parts, rural and urban with the Secretary of the
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as its Mission Coordinator. This scheme
aims to make India a pioneer in sanitation and solid and liquid waste management
by 2019, as a fitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary on
2nd October, 2019.
Some important objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) are
listed as under:
(a) Bringing an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas which
would be achieved by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open
defecation.
(b) Accelerating the growth of sanitation coverage within rural communities.
(c) Motivating communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable
sanitation within their jurisdiction.
(d) Encouraging cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe
and sustainable sanitation techniques.
(e) Developing community managed sanitation systems that focus on scientific
solid and liquid waste and overall management of waste for cleanliness in the
rural areas.
(f) Creating significant impact on gender-related awareness and promoting social
inclusion by improving sanitation especially in marginalized communities.
Swachh Bharat Mission also aims toward the declaration of cities and villages as
open defecation free (ODF). According to the guidelines by the Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India, ODF refers to the elimination
of fecal-oral transmission, defined by
(a) No visible feces to be found in the community or village.
(b) Every household as well as public institutions to use safe technology option for
disposal of feces.
The process of ODF verification starts when a Gram Sabha (a body consisting of
all persons whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the Panchayat at the
village level) declares the entire Gram Panchayat or the village as ODF free. Since
ODF villages have a tendency to fall back to pre-existing conditions, two verifications
are conducted. The first verification, which is conducted by the Gram Panchayat,
occurs within three months of the declaration and the second verification, which is
conducted by the state government, is carried out six months after the first verification.
The State can do the verification themselves or invite third-party verifiers.
However, the most important aspect of Swachh Bharat Mission is the demand generation for the usage of toilet through various IEC activities. Information, education